An excellent way of making resin caulkers for dispensing sealants, caulking compounds, etc. is to extrude a cylindrical tube, cut up the tube to form caulker barrels, and join end closures to the barrels. The accurate dimensions of extruded barrels insures that the sealing and dispensing plungers fit properly. End closures are typically injection molded of resin material and have a dispenser nozzle that the user can cut off to open up a dispensing tip.
My previous U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,980 and 4,069,091 and a competitor's U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,569 follow this general plan and use spin welding to join the end closures to the barrels. As laid out in a factory, these methods require several machines operating independently at different rates of speed performing the required operations to form completed caulkers; and components in various stages of production are accumulated, moved to each working location, and fed to machines in proper orientation for subsequent operations. More specifically, long, narrow cylinder extruders operate in one location to form cylinders that are cut off to produce an accumulation of caulker barrels; injection molding machines in another location form a supply of end closures; barrels and end closures are fed in proper orientation to an assembly machine that spin welds them together; and the assembled caulkers are then fed to printing machines that flame treat, print or decorate, and cure or dry.
I have discovered a simpler and more efficient way of making resin caulkers in an operation that is faster, takes less space, requires fewer workers, eliminates previous steps, and produces an improved result. My way of making caulkers readily accommodates different constructions, meets the rigorous standards of the caulker industry, and reduces manufacturing costs for a significant saving on an item that is made by the millions annually.